“Those seeking fun and interesting talks can learn how Picasso produced more than 150,000 pieces of art; misconceptions about how people think; how companies can design for disasters; and 101 different ways to write stories.” They can also play games in the game room or visit the trade show for interactive exhibits.

The stylized Big (D)esign name is an insider nerd joke, Sullivan says. Big D is an industry synonym for design thinking. And then there’s the obvious: It happens here. “It’s become a brand like South by [Southwest]. People will say, ‘Are you going to Big D?’”

Beer meeting

Big (D)esign is put on by a nonprofit coalition of seven local professional organizations with a combined membership of more than 10,000 in North Texas.

Keynote speakers get paid for air and hotel expenses. All of the speakers donate their time. Proceeds and sponsorships typically cover expenses with a little left over for the next year.

Readers of The News who use the online registration code DMN2014 can buy two-day conference tickets for $280 (a 25 percent discount) or $90 for students. The two pre-conference workshops on Sept. 4 cost $95 using the code.

The idea for the conference was hatched in July 2008 when Sullivan, Bernhardt and four other organization leaders got together for beers. Somebody said, “We ought to have a conference.”

The next day, Sullivan had one started.

The first Big (D)esign was held in 2009 at Southern Methodist University’s Hughes-Trigg Student Center, and 502 people came. The event moved to Addison in 2011 to handle the growing attendance.

This year, people have registered from Mexico, Spain, France and the Netherlands.

Sullivan and Keith Anderson, a software designer for Sprint, put together the slate of 75 speakers, drawing from a pool of 200 from around the country. Their first cut was by blind submission so that they wouldn’t be swayed by pedigrees.

Chelsea Maxwell, a 23-year-old graduate student in applied cognition and neuroscience at the University of Texas at Dallas, is a first-time speaker.

Maxwell, who recently landed a job as a user-interaction designer at Active Network, attended the conference last year and thought people would enjoy her research.

“We end up with a lot of pop psychology,” says Maxwell, who will bust five myths about the brain. “I want to share actual neuroscience research with people in the user experience community to help them design better with the human brain in mind.”

For one thing, the brain isn’t easily delineated as left and right, she says. “Designers think, ‘Oh, my users are going to be logical or they’re going to be creative.’ It’s not a dichotomy like that. Understanding brain physiology helps you see the individual as a whole and not as a stereotype.”

“And color is highly cultural. White is purity and birth in our culture and death in many Eastern Asian countries,” she says. “It’s our black.”

Talent hunt

Sullivan says there’s a cadence to the conference.

“We have the guy who designed Verizon’s FiOS, followed by the author of a very popular book, followed by a guy who did ballot designs for the last presidential election,” Sullivan says.

Think hanging chads?

“Exactly.”

Saturday evening’s finale should have universal appeal: Oscar winner Phil Tippett, who worked his creature design and character animation magic in the Star Wars, Robocop, Indiana Jones, Twilight and Jurassic Park movie series.

Some won’t care about speakers or topics, Bernhardt says — they come to scope out talent. That’s one of her favorite selling points.

The Big (D)esign organizers want to expand the brand to other Texas cities.

They also have initiatives in the works with Addison and its TreeHouse, a entrepreneurial incubator that opened in June.

“We want to do creative coffee talks one Friday a month,” Sullivan says. “We also want to do civic-minded hackathons. So if Addison needs help with a website or an app, we’re going to get some of the best minds together over a weekend to figure out a solution. That’s going to happen next year.”

And if the city needs to redesign its ballots, Sullivan has just the guy in mind.

Follow Cheryl Hall on Twitter

at @CherylHall_DMN.

Big (D)esign Conference

What: A two-day conference about a wide range of creative tech disciplines.

Cost: Readers of The News pay a 25 percent discounted rate of $95 for pre-conference workshops and $280 and $90 for students for the two-day conference. Use online registration code DMN2014. Walk-ins will be welcome.

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About Cheryl Hall

MOST MEMORABLE EXPERIENCE ON THE JOB: Probably my most memorable event was with President George Bush (father) shortly after his failed bid for re-election. He'd been out of the limelight. I tried to ask him some political questions hoping to get a scoop. But he clapped me on the elbow and said, "Cheryl, one of the true joys of being out of office is I don't have to stand here and be interviewed by you. If you'd like to chat informally, I'd be happy to." I took a big breath, clapped him on the arm and said, "So George, how's the house coming?" He talked about going to Sam's and buying really big jars of spaghetti sauce. I felt like I was in the middle of a Saturday Night Live skit.

Another weird moment was going to a black-tie fete at the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant that was gearing up to be a fresh-food concept. My "date" for the evening was Dallas restaurateur Norman Brinker, who correctly predicted that the concept would never fly.

SOMETHING PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME: I can be both a bleeding heart liberal and a staunch conservative -- sometimes over the same issue.

IF I HAD TWO SPARE HOURS, I WOULD: Spare hours make me nervous. Given a spare year and plenty of money, I'd travel the world with my husband and daughter.

THE GREATEST CHALLENGE TO COVERING BUSINESS IN NORTH TEXAS: Knowing all the hidden connections among the key players.

Hometown: I was born in San Antonio, but as a military brat, I lived in Japan, suburban Washington, D.C., and Louisiana growing up.

Education: I have a bachelor's of fine arts received from Southern Methodist University in 1973.

I came to work for The Dallas Morning News in May 1972 as a summer intern in the business news department and never left -- so I've been here covering business for four decades.